Tottenham legend Gary Lineker insists Mauricio Pochettino is “punching well above his weight” at White Hart Lane and doesn’t need to win a trophy to prove his credentials as a top-class manager.
Speaking ahead of Spurs’ last-16 first-leg clash against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, the BT Sport presenter defended Pochettino’s record and believes he has nothing to prove to anyone.
“He doesn’t need to win anything to be proclaimed as a terrific coach,” Lineker, who won the FA Cup with Spurs in 1991, told talkSPORT.
“He’s punching well above his weight in terms of how he’s performed at that football club, that’s why he’s been linked with Manchester United.
“If he was manager of Manchester City or Liverpool then you’d go ‘yeah, he needs to be winning things on a fairly regular basis.’
“Tottenham have got a good squad, but they haven’t got the strength in depth that City or Liverpool have.”
He continued: “(Pep) Guardiola had to wait until his second season to win his first trophy at City.
“On that basis does [Jurgen] Klopp need to win something this season? Yeah, probably.
“But at the same time [Liverpool] play great football, they’re ultra-competitive and serious challengers in two of the biggest competitions in world football, so you have to weigh all that up.
“Pochettino is not managing a huge club with massive budgets and expectations.
“He’s not bought a player for the last two windows, now. Some people have short memories.”
Spurs’ last piece of silverware came back in February 2008 when they won the League Cup at the expense of Chelsea.
The north London side were recently dealt a double blow in their pursuit of that long-awaited trophy as they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup and FA Cup within a matter of days of each other.
Despite that, Lineker says the club’s fan base must be realistic with their expectations of the squad, who he maintains are performing “brilliant” under tight constraints.
He added: “I think they’ve done superbly. They’ve had a fair few injuries to contend with and yet again they’ve proved to be strong contenders for the title.
“They’ve lost [Harry] Kane, [Heung-Min] Son, and [Dele] Alli in recent weeks.
“They are big losses for any side in the world.
“They’re obviously strapped for cash at the minute.
“The stadium is obviously killing them in that respect, as they have to put everything into that in a financial sense.
“I know they’ve been knocked out of two cup competitions in quick succession, but they’re only five points off Liverpool at the top now and they’re in the last 16 of the Champions League.
“So all things considered I think they’re doing really well, brilliant in fact.”
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